Seems like there's a lot of hysteria and misinformation out there due to Fatty Kim and the Norks. I've been living in this part of the world for 13 years now so thought I'd do CC a public service and volunteer to answer any questions you might have. Ask away.

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

It doesn't bother me at all and never really did. Also there are far far worse smelling foods over here but strangely enough, the worse they smell the better they generally taste. For example: cheon guk jang is basically extra-fermented soy bean paste stew. Sounds wretched and smells like boiled dirty socks but the stuff tastes magnificent!

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

Glad to be of service Funkyterrance. Saxi is sadly misinformed. While I'm pretty sure the ratio of stinky people to non-stinky people is fairly uniform regardless of ethnicity, in my experience Chinese folks tend to be extra-fragrant. I sat next to one Chinese dude on a 14 hour (totally full) flight across the Pacific who must have shit his pants a few times on the voyage and just didn't care.

Serbia wrote:

perchorin wrote:

Serbia wrote:Do you ever fuck the locals?

Of course! Just my wife now though but she's also a local girl.

(respectful) pics or it didn't happen?

Maybe next time I'm drunk. Sadly it's 1 in the afternoon on a Thursday here and I've not got a drop in me.

Ray Rider wrote:In general, what do South Koreans think about the current situation with North Korea? Are they worried? Are they convinced it's just bluster? Or do they want to get to war and unify Korea once again?

South Koreans don't even blink at this shit anymore. It's been pretty much the same for going on 60 years now, you get used to it. In fact, most of the people here don't understand why Americans get so freaked out about it all. I have to explain to them the "YOUR KIDS ARE IN DANGER! (details after these commercial messages)" mentality of the media in the States. That's not to say nobody believes shit won't go down someday, but after all this time they're not getting excited about anything until shit actually does go down. As for wanting reunification, most South Koreans under 40 don't want that at all (though few would admit it) because they know they'd all be dirt poor again for a generation if they had to dig the North out of the economic hole they dug themselves into.

Last edited by perchorin on Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

oVo wrote:Which do you find more disturbing... the sabre rattling of the Norksor the bullish response from some talking heads in the west?

Definitely the latter. The Nork leadership isn't suicidal and they know if it came to war they'd all be flash fried in the first 30 minutes. The only way something really bad is ever going to happen is if the US or China want it to happen, or a series of really stupid mistakes and misunderstandings are made. Apparently the Nork border guys are under strictest orders to NOT SHOOT AT ANYTHING EVER unless told otherwise from someone upstairs just to avoid the latter scenario.

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

BigBallinStalin wrote:How would you describe the general reaction of male Koreans to white, Western foreigners?

(I've heard South Korean males can generally be a bit xenophobic).

Yeah...I suppose things aren't as bad as they used to be but I've definitely had some very bad experiences (being a white Western foreigner myself). It's like a lot of things. Individually and sober most of the Korean men I know are lovely people. In a group and intoxicated is a very very different story though. About 5 years ago I was in a bar in Seoul (I live in Busan and was just taking a weekend up there. Seoul is a vile shithole though and best avoided no mater what else you've heard) chatting up a lovely young local girl when a group of 7 or 8 drunken Korean guys decided to take exception. We went outside and I flattened the leader and that's when the other half dozen descended upon me. Nobody tried to stop them or call the police, and I had to take a taxi to a local hospital. When I went into the emergency room they told me there were no doctors there, sorry so I went to a nearby motel instead and ruined all their towels and bedding. I still have problems with my right ear and jaw from the beating I took that night. Unfortunately that's not the only such experience I have in this area but it was the worst of them. Being as I'm 193cm and 100kg and the average Korean dude is around 175cm and 80kg, they have to be pretty drunk to start something with me and you can just push those guys over. As I said though, it's gotten much better over the years. I fought a taxi driver (Korean taxi driver = scum of the earth) just a few months after moving here back in 2001 because as soon as my Korean gf at the time and I got into the cab he started hurling abuse at her like what a white woman would have heard dating a black man back in the 60's in the US. Nowadays I can't remember the last time something like that's threatened to occur.

/ wrote:Do you have any preference on the result of the Pinnacle Islands dispute?

I had to wiki "Pinnacle Islands" as that's the first time I'd ever heard the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands referred to as such. If there's one topic that has proven time and time again to be the bane of my existence over here it's local island disputes. People lose all semblance of rational thought so I avoid the topic entirely. It's like bringing up abortion in the bible belt.

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

BigBallinStalin wrote:2. How do Koreans generally feel about the US presence of military there? What's there general take on US involvement with their country?

There is a very clear generation gap as regards the US military presence in Korea. If you're over 60 (and with the aging population problem over here, that's a very significant percentage) you have nothing but warm fuzzy feelings for Uncle Sam and his boys. Mi-ka-duh (MacArthur) is still revered by this group. If you're 30-60 you likely see the US military presence as an unfortunate necessity, but would be happy to see them pack up and leave someday (unless you're particularly astute and realize the dollar value of the free security services being provided). If you're under 30 you generally hate the US military presence and many go so far as to claim the US is the enemy and sole preventer of peaceful reunification with the north. Young people here are pretty fucked up! A poll a few years ago of the local youth asked "who is the Republic of Korea's 'main enemy'" and Japan came in number one, the US at number two and North Korea was a distant third.

Funkyterrance wrote:This is a great thread! I'm really learning a lot, no joke.I think this is the absolute best way to learn about a region tbh, the media just sucks when it comes to this stuff.

Glad to be of service, the media is definitely lacking in it's coverage of Korean issues. I also highly recommend this blog if you want to stay up to date on what's going on over here:http://www.rjkoehler.com/p.s. that's not my blog!

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

I never really knew the guy but I remember chatting with him about Korea once. He lived way on the other side of town from me as I recall. My guess is he went back to wherever it was he originally came from and left CC behind.

oVo wrote:Thanks for the thread... and the blog link.

Glad to do it. Anything to get some accurate information out there for a change!

Also the US Embassy here has been sending this out to all Americans living in South Korea:

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that despite current political tensions with North Korea there is no specific information to suggest there are imminent threats to U.S. citizens or facilities in the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Embassy has not changed its security posture and we have not recommended that U.S. citizens who reside in, or plan to visit, the Republic of Korea take special security precautions at this time. The U.S. Embassy takes as its highest priority the welfare of American citizens in Korea.

Silvanus wrote:perch is a North Korean agent to infiltrate south Korean girls

My nephew is thinking about spending some time in South Korea next year. I believe (we don't communicate that often) it's something to do with his studies at University. Where would you say he really must see, and what should he totally avoid?Incidentally, if ethnicity is important, and if South Koreans can differentiate between white guys, he has no trace of U.S. ancestry - he's (let me calculate) 1/4 Welsh, 1/4 English, and 1/2 Flemish. He's fluent in English, his first language is Flemish / Dutch, and he speaks French and some German.

And remember what the poet said – “in booty there is loot, and in loot booty.” Or sump’n like that.

Oh, and this will not be important to anyone in Korea, I'm sure, but he speaks Luxembourgois too, or at lesat the version current to where he grew up. I understand that the language (if it can really be called so) is a mixture of the various surrounding languages and perceptibly shifts from one town to the next.

And remember what the poet said – “in booty there is loot, and in loot booty.” Or sump’n like that.